Personally, I really wouldn't bother future proofing any PC-related items anymore. It's much easier to just resell and buy the next new thing instead if your current hardware isn't up to your expectations.

yes and no
personally I'd never go and spend the part that offers the best performance at a huge cost

but next-gen consoles are due in a few months and would be stupid to get a card to only to get hold back by a memory cap relatively soon...it's one thing if your card lacks the brute horsepower to run a game...you just dial down the settings...but once you hit a VRAM wall there's nothing you can do but upgrade.

Hmm I have a computer where it randomly shut down after 20 min...then 5 min down to shutting off in seconds. I swapped in a different PSU and the problem was gone. I dusted my old PSU and tested it with the paper clip and it's been running 24 no issues (except the LED lights flicker every few seconds)...so this PSU is fine? I dont know if I should waste any more time installing it back/wire mgmt just to have it turn off on me again.

I would say your PSU is done. I'm guessing when you are using the paper clip there is nothing else attached to the PSU. If it runs fine like that then i would say if you put load on the psu it will turn off pretty quick. Might as well throw the PSU away.

I always buy and sell top end Video Cards every two years.

but its like a circle.....Selling previous one for around 200~300
Buy a top end one for 750 ...

So, its like adding 400 bux to get top end every 2 yrs

PSU is likely done, I had a DOA one that was like that except the longest it would last was 2 min, then 30 seconds, then nothing. It passed a PSU tester and the paperclip test, I'm assuming it has something to do with there being no current draw with those tests.

Twitchy, fck yea Rome 2 is the reason I'm upgrading my vid card, I'm a huge history nerd and I love games that allow you to relive history. I have Shogun 2 as well, but I could never get into it even though I studied Japanese History and liked it. There was something odd about that game that it just turns me off, maybe the small map size, maybe how fuckin gloomy the whole game looks, everything is dark, HDR'ish, etc.... can't wait for Rome 2, gonna play as my own people this time around, the Illyrian war tribes, gonna see if I can take on Rome in their own back yard right across the Adriatic, lol



but fck im a noob..... I ended up getting another ASUS 660 ti to SLI it instead of a single 770 since the convo I had about the 2gb being ok for a while swayed me into not thinking I had to go with a 4gb card right now, and also I saw benchmarks that in most games and cases two TI's it performs better then a single 770, so now I got my old EVGA 660 ti and the new ASUS 660 ti.

problem though, I was trying to update the ASUS card with latest bios and it looks like it flashed the shit out of both cards, so for example my EVGA now shows in GPUZ it's running the ASUS bios... I guess the best way would have been to do it separately each card in by itself... in any case, I've pretty much handicapped my EVGA card currently, for example the ASUS card runs almost twice as fast in the benchmarks I've done. So obviously it's the fault of the bios...

So right now the ASUS runs perfect, but I'm trying to figure out how to update the EVGA bios for fcsks sake... ASUS has an utility where you just basically press go and it checks the intertes, then updates and restarts your computer so it flashes updates both your MOBO and GPU bios to latest.... EVGA doesnt seem to have shit, and I can't figure out the DOS bullshit that is NVFLASH



EDIT:: figured it out, finally found a way after a whole lot of searching to flash GPU BIOS within windows using nflash, both cards are working at full capacity and running very well... I am getting noticeably better results than a single 770, so thanks for the advice guys, it worked out the way I needed it too....
3dMark score for Fire Strike Standard (not Extreme) is at 9091, which I don't know if that's even right, because what a single Titan card gets ?

Your 660Ti SLI performance is in between GTX 780 and Titan

Titan is around 9130 score. My GTX780 got 9010 score

http://i.imgur.com/aYIlGPP.jpg

but the titan really shines when you have a huge or multiple screens, since it has that monster 6gb memory...

Yea, thats the benefit of having huge Memory. Totally understand.

I was going for Titan, but too bad, I only have a Dell U2711 not 3.
Titan will be over kill for me.

yea, if you dont plan on getting more or a bigger res monitor.. no need to such an expensive GFX card..

dat minimum fps :okay:

Does anyone use a PCI-E sound card? I'm thinking of getting the Asus Xonar 5.1 which is on sale right now for $25 ($15 after a $10 rebate) but I'm not sure if it's worth it to upgrade from my onbaord sound card.

I'm using a MSI Z77 MPower

and this is the sound card: Asus Xonar DG 5.1 Low Profile PCI Sound Card w/ Headphone AMP at Memory Express

I use a Asus Xonar Essence STX because I do listen to a lot of music with my headphones and needed a good sound card so my cans weren't being wasted.

Honestly I think any sound card today is still better than onboard, and if I were to recommend a sound card to someone I would only recommend the Xonar 5.1 or Xonar Essence STX. Why? Because anything in between is a waste of money and you don't get your money's worth. Either get an entry level sound card or get the best.

Absolutely worth it, if you have mid range speakers or better

i see quite a lot of z87 motherboards comes with non realtek on board sound, are those gonna be better? or just gimmick?
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Depends on what they are using instead. Some may be better, some may be worse

What speakers/headphones are you using? I really wouldn't bother unless your audio gear can make use of the higher power/fidelity output.

For my speakers, I've been using the Logitech Z2300s (approx 6 years old now). Kind of looking to upgrade but they're still sounding good.

I'm using SoundBlaster Alphas for gaming right now, but I'm looking at upgrading to a set of the SteelSeries Siberias. Might even get real headphones and not gaming headphones.

I also use Sennheiser HD-25 IIs when I don't really need a mic a lot more comfortable.

So I bought that sound card yesterday and realized it was a PCI slot :okay:

Decided to get these instead: Asus Xonar DGX PCI-E 5.1 Gaming Audio Card w/ Headphone Amp at Memory Express

Looking for entry level Z87 Board? Here it is :
EDIT: DEAL is dead =/

The link is wrong... lol

Probably cause it was one of those like daily deals. Link was to the daily deal page but not the deal itself.

So what material would you guys recommend that I use to cover the side of my case...something that allows good airflow... I'm planning on taking off the whole left side cover because everything runs at least 15c's cooler since the computer is right next to my window. And that's on summer nights, winter nights I'm expecting it all to run even cooler. All that cool air coming in makes a huge difference... I still would like to put some filter type material to keep any particles out, has to be big enough to cover the whole left side of the case..

I wouldn't do this if the diff is a measly few Celsius, but upwards of 20celsius cooler is big

^ Firstly I would consider getting better/more fans.

If you're trying to go ahead with your plan and DIY. Cut a hole in your side panel, leaving an inch and add mesh grill with a rivet gun...then add some fan filters.

^ you know I been looking for an excuse to upgrade to a full size atx since my mid is very crowded currently, some plugs and parts are a super tight fit. So I seen a case called the Azzo 1000 which has a big 230mm fan on the left side which is where I need it, so I imagine that fan sucking in tons of cool outside air. Some people said the fan however isn't that strong? Maybe they're wrong ? Either way what options do I have for a high quality 230mm fan? Noctua??? I don't care about noise since my PC sits in the back of the room

From the spec u mentioned about your rig, a atx case is sufficient. Look for a high air flow case and add some high rpm fan. If u don't care about noise that is...

Or just buy a small table fan and leave your side panel open and make it blow in there hahaha
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